Grocery Delivery Service Instacart Partners with FarmsReach for Delivery from Local Farmers Markets

NOTE: The East Bay farmers market deliveries pilot has been suspended, and Instacart and FarmsReach are conducting a feasibility study of deliveries from farmers markets from the San Francisco urban center.

Below is the press release that went out today announcing our partnership with Instacart. Exciting times!

San Francisco, Calif. – September 11, 2014 – Instacart, the only service that can deliver groceries from multiple local stores within an hour, announced today that it has partnered with FarmsReach, a platform for small and medium-scale farms to access the products, support and services they need to be successful.

Instacart will begin delivering groceries from Farmers Markets in San Francisco’s East Bay and plans to expand beyond that area soon.

Originally launched in San Francisco and since expanded into many other major cities, Instacart has disrupted the traditional grocery delivery space with its crowdsourced labor force dubbed “Personal Shoppers,” who shop for and deliver grocery orders utilizing their own transportation in as little as one hour. This eliminates the need for costly infrastructure such as inventory, warehouses, trucks and full-time drivers, and enables Instacart to expand into a new city in just 2-4 weeks, versus 6-9 months for competitors. Customers can order from multiple stores and have everything delivered in as little as one hour. See a full map of Instacart’s Bay Area coverage.

“FarmsReach is a great organization that got its start connecting farms at farmers markets to local customers,” said Instacart’s Bay Area City Manager Nathalie Miller. “They’re a perfect partner to help us get farms’ products into the hands of our shoppers who are looking for fresh farm-to-table options. We strive to deliver fresh, top quality foods quickly to our customers, and FarmsReach will help us expand our fresh grocery options for Bay Area customers through the popular network of Farmers Markets.”

“We’re excited about this partnership with Instacart because it means getting more local fresh food on people’s plates, and it helps expand farmers’ most profitable channel direct to customers,” said Melanie Cheng, Founder of FarmsReach. “The industry challenge has always been how to scale farms’ direct sales without putting the burden on resource- strapped farmers and ranchers. This program is a perfect fit in extending their reach to new customers who may not have shopped at farmers markets before, or even existing customers who can’t make it to the market that day. It’s really a win win for everyone.”

Customers can open an account, and get free delivery on their first order of $10 or more. Instacart also offers an Amazon-Prime like service called Instacart Express – an annual membership that eliminates delivery fees for all orders of $35 or more. The cost is just $99. Customers can sign up for a free two-week trial.

About FarmsReach

Founded in 2007, FarmsReach is a network that connects small- and medium-scale farms to the products, support and services they need to be successful. Its team got its start operating the first farmers market-to-restaurant co-op in San Francisco in 2002, which led to the FarmsReach online marketplace increasing farms’ sales to restaurants and distributors. By partnering with farmer members and agriculture organizations, FarmsReach offers a growing suite of services that empower farmers to make better business decisions, access new markets, preserve the environment, and strengthen rural communities.

About Instacart

Instacart is the only service that can deliver groceries from multiple local stores within an hour, and is often less expensive for consumers than a personal, time-consuming trip to the grocery store. Customers in San Francisco, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, San Jose, Seattle, and Washington, DC can choose from over 350,000 items from local grocery stores and large chains like Whole Foods Market, Safeway, Shaw’s, BJ’s Wholesale and Costco. Instacart is disrupting the traditional grocery delivery business with its approach, which utilizes a crowdsourced model of Personal Shoppers who provide their own transportation and smartphones to shop and deliver groceries to customers. This model eliminates the need for costly infrastructure such as warehouses, trucks and full-time drivers. Learn more.